You should read the blog http://thejoyofeatingalone.wordpress.com/. My friend writes it and I’m always moved after finishing an instalment. She writes honestly and with sensitivity about eating alone. It is a gentle confrontation that causes us to think about the company we keep and wonder if sometimes, our own company may be the best idea. The stories, personal and sometimes tinged with sadness always uplift and leave me feeling better for having let the tales become part of me.
For all the well-meaning intent of the blog, its ability to express solitude and silence, I can only empathise. It’s not that I have never eaten alone, I have, but I have never eaten alone with my friend. In my world, she’s never alone and for all the solemnity that eating alone can be, I only know her bonhomie. With the latest chapter at Dabbous in London.
There is simply nothing constructive that I could write about Ollie Dabbous’ food that hasn’t been written before, other than – to eat at Dabbous, you really must do so with great company – with people who love food and life in equal measure. We enjoyed the food, no doubt – but the laughter that comes from just the right mix of wine and wit made it a meal.
And the chef-patron, table-side talking with us at the end of the evening, sharing additional Canelé he brought with him turned the shared meal into being in a warm home; one that is never meant to be alone.
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